“Genuinely want to win” - Kana vows to bounce back following Phetjeeja loss at ONE 172 in Saitama

It's been a hard road for Kana Morimoto since making her ONE Championship debut, but the former K-1 queen is determined to bounce back following her latest loss.

With a big win over Moa Carlsson in January, Kana secured her first shot at ONE gold, challenging reigning ONE atomweight kickboxing world champion Phetjeeja at ONE 172 in Japan. Despite her best effort, Kana came up short, surrendering a unanimous decision to the Thai superstar.

Looking back on her first few months with the promotion, Kana admits that it's been a bumpy ride so far. But despite the setbacks, she's hell bent on climbing back into the win column.

"I've had three matches in the four months since I came to ONE," Kana wrote on Instagram. "It's not been a smooth road, with losses, wins, and losses, but I've started to genuinely want to win."

Kana is just 1-2 under the ONE Championship banner, but a big win in her next appearance could go a long way toward putting her back into the atomweight title picture.

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Phetjeeja feels like she could have done better against Kana at ONE 172

While it was another disappointing loss for Kana, Phetjeeja landed her 208th career victory and improved her record under the ONE Championship banner to 7-0.

Still, 'The Queen' feels like there's room for improvement despite accomplishing her goal in a fairly dominant fashion.

"I feel great about this fight today, but I feel like I could have done better, but nonetheless, I have fulfilled my goal to defend my title," Phetjeeja said at the ONE 172 post-fight press conference.

Chances are, Phetjeeja and Kana's paths will cross once again. But for now, what's next for two of kickboxing's best female strikers?

If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.